The following tech issue that recently happened to me might not apply to new authors who are self-publishing, however, I think it’s important to mention for published authors who might be self-publishing back listed books. And, for those self-publishing more than one book at a time. There are some things you just can’t portend no matter how hard you try. And what happened to me late last night with Something for St. Jude is a good example of this. You may have heard me screaming at Amazon.

I’ve posted about how we’ve been re-releasing all my back listed stories and books from now defunct small e-press, Loveyoudivine.com. So it’s not really self-publishing in the sense that these books have already been through the publishing process from developmental editing, to covers, to copy editing. And in most cases, these stories have even been through more than that because many were trad published in anthologies that were released years ago by respected LGBT publishers like Cleis Press. They’ve gone through more than a few edits by excellent professional editors. I even left the original book covers, which I wanted to change, so readers would not get confused. So I thought I had nothing about which to worry.

Think again. Even though I’ve always been completely open and honest about all my product information…to the point of being a pain in the ass with blog posts like this, late last night I went to Amazon to check out Something for St. Jude and I noticed a review (a good review) that read, “False Advertising.” And since I don’t even advertise my books anywhere…or much of anything I write…I read the review a few times, bought the book myself, and figured out the issue.

Evidently, there was a tech issue during the upload where several short stories were added to the short e-book, Something for St. Jude. In other words, instead of getting the one short story for .99 as it had been described in the book blurb, the reader wound up getting Something for St. Jude, plus a few additional short stories for free. Of course when I get something for free by mistake, I say thank you and smile. But two readers were so upset they’d received all these short stories for free when they purchased the .99 e-book they left reviews about it. And I can’t thank them enough for leaving these reviews. This is truly the kind of feedback the world needs to see. If it hadn’t been for these reviewers mentioning this tech issue, I would never have known all these short e-books were being given away for free with a .99 short story.

Don’t get me wrong. I honestly don’t mind that people read the extra books for free and I hope that a few people enjoyed them. I’ve never been one to complain about these things, and my publishers often get frustrated with me because of this. But that’s because I do believe that when issues like this happen and someone benefits from it, good for them. To me it’s like going into the store, finding a mismarked item, and making the store honor the mistake. In fact, with all the e-book pirates out there pilfering my books, I’m kind of glad this mistake happened so readers who do pay and do things the honest way got a little surprise when they purchased SfSJ for .99 and found more than they’d expected. Good for them!

But, in the same respect, I felt awful about those poor readers who had received free e-books and didn’t want them. You can read the reviews here. I’ve left comments apologizing and thanking them for pointing this problem out to me. I still can’t thank them enough. And the problem has been fixed now, thanks to these dedicated Amazon reviewers, and Something for St. Jude is now one short story instead of five short stories for .99. As I said, had it not been for them I never would have known. And shame on me for not triple checking that. But as I said, there are some things you can’t predict no matter how hard you try. And when it comes to re-releasing back listed book issues, this might be one of them other authors should pay attention to. I’m still not completely certain how this happened. I checked all of the other books that were released around the same time and they seem to be fine.

I’d also like to add that if things like this ever come up and you need to contact me, my e-mail is public and I welcome all comments in private. I will respect your privacy and discretion is extremely important to me. rfieldj@aol.com

Weiner’s Snarky Director

It’s been established that Anthony Weiner is naughty. It’s been established he has a strong story. It’s been well established that other politicians can lie about anything and get away with it, from their book bio to their college records, but don’t do anything sexual in your personal life or your done.

And now it seems Weiner’s communications directer went batshit crazy about an article in NY Daily News where one of Weiner’s nasty little interns allegedly wrote a tell-all. According to this article, the intern claims Weiner had problems getting people to work on his staff. The only reason people were on Weiner’s staff were there to get closer to his wife and Hillary Clinton (Weiner’s wife works for Hillary). Basically, it sounds like the intern bashed all of them in a breach of confidence, including the communications director. And the communications directer, Barbara Morgan, went after the mouthy little intern without holding anything back. And it was very entertaining.

“It’s all bullshit,” Morgan tells TPM. “I mean, it’s such bullsh*t. She could f**king — f**king tw*t.” Oh.Morgan goes on to say that Nuzzi is a “slutbag” and says “she sucked.” Also: “You know what? F**k you, you little c*nt. I’m not joking, I am going to sue her.”In a statement this morning that was sent to reporters and available on The Washington Post, Morgan says, “In a moment of frustration, I used inappropriate language in what I thought was an off-the-record conversation. It was wrong and I am very sorry, which is what I said tonight when I called and emailed Olivia to apologize.”My fifty cents: Sometimes you just have to get it all off your chest and let them have it.

Author of over 100 published LGBT romance novels and stories, including AN OFFICER AND HIS GENTLEMAN and best selling VIRGIN BILLIONAIRE SERIES. Hates beets.
New Hope, PA Palm Springs, CA
ryan-field.blogspot.com